HOUSTON - Count me among those that were interested in seeing Cam Newton live on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

It’s not quite the same watching highlights on SportsCenter and watching him on television. After watching Newton on Sunday at Reliant Stadium, I will tell you this … he’s a freak.

Everybody knows about his size and his running ability, but it was his arm accuracy that was an issue for him coming in to the league.

On Sunday, he had some accuracy issues, but what rookie quarterback doesn’t? But his first-quarter strike to Steve Smith for the Texans’ first touchdown was a throw that only a few quarterbacks in the NFL can make. He put the ball only where Smith could catch it and it was simply a rope.

Plus, that 26-yard strike to Smith came one play after he was sacked for a 10-yard loss, showing he will be able to put bad plays behind him.

“He’s capable of doing things he’s done all year,” Texans cornerback Danieal Manning said. “We stopped him from scoring personally, but they came out and whooped our butt. I don’t think he’s reached his full potential now.”

Newton is having a solid rookie season for a team that is young and rebuilding, and even in some of their losses this season he’s been able to put up big numbers. Frankly, I didn’t think he would adapt this quick to the NFL because he played in a gimmicky offense at Auburn coordinated by new Arkansas State head coach Gus Malzahn.

On Sunday, I saw some of those good things when he ripped off two runs for a total of 30 yards, including a 13 yarder on second down on the Panthers’ final scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

Newton’s success this season has been lost in the Tim Tebow hoopla, but watching him live you see what professional scouts saw in him.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera was a coach in his assessment on Sunday, but you can tell that he’s looking forward to his future with Newton.

“Other than the third quarter, I thought the way he handled situations late in the third, going into the fourth was very good,” Rivera said. “He did some good things early on and we had a little lull.”

Newton already has the respect of the players he plays with and from opposing teams, but Texans defensive tackle Antonio Smith did offer some advice for the young Newton.